Dahlia mandala hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Dahlia mandala: preview of the stitched design

A dahlia is seen from above: four rows of narrow pointed petals, each row longer than the last and coming out from behind it, with sixteen green leaves showing between the outermost. The petals are satin stitch in reds and orange, the leaves are fishbone stitch, and the middle is one gold French knot with eight more round it. Every ring repeats evenly, so it can be stitched a wedge at a time.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a quarter of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop and a great deal of stitching.

5 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.8 in	7.1 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.7 × 3.7 in	9.4 × 9.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.6 × 4.6 in	11.7 × 11.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.4 × 6.4 in	16.3 × 16.3 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.
In a 3 or 4 inch hoop the French knots are drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for them there, or choose a larger hoop.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLeaves
DMC 304 Medium RedRed pointed petals
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaRust pointed petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnots in the middle
DMC 922 Light CopperOrange pointed petals

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves
Satin stitch 2 strandsPointed petals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots in the middle

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.